The incident caused an uproar among animal activists. Protests outside the zoo on the day of the killing and an online petition that gathered more than 25,000 signatures was not able to save Marius.

According to Reuters, Marius was given his favorite breakfast of rye bread before he was shot with a bolt gun.

Below are some pictures from the dissection. (WARNING: Some of these pictures are graphic).

Here's Marius the giraffe. This photo was taken a couple of days before he was shot.

REUTERS/Keld Navntoft/Scanpix Denmark

Marius was killed on Sunday to prevent interbreeding among the other giraffes at the zoo.

REUTERS/Kasper Palsnov/Scanpix Denmark

After Marius was shot, veterinarians cut apart the carcass.

REUTERS/Kasper Palsnov/Scanpix Denmark

A veterinarian holds a leg of the giraffe while it was being dismembered. Some of the meat was fed to the zoo's lions and the rest was sent to research institution in Denmark and other parts of the world.REUTERS/Kasper Palsnov/Scanpix Denmark

Children look at the carcass of the giraffe Marius after it was killed.